Foundation garment



June 23, 1942. L. J. A. AMYOT FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed May 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJ INVEN T R LOUISJAAMYOT ATTORNEYS.

June 23, 1942. L. J. A. KMYOT 2,287,222

FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed May {'26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 25 :3 Fit}. 5

INVENTOR.

LO u S.J..A.AMYOT ATTOB' Patented June 23, 1942 I l UETE STATES PATENT" 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in foundation garments, such as girdles, and the object is to provide an improved garment of this character which is constructed in a novel manner to provide a non-curling and non-rolling stiifening band at the upper edge or waist-line portion of the garment.

The preferred form of garment provided in accordance with this invention comprises full length front, rear and side panels joined together along their vertical edges, the front and rear panels being made relatively narrow and the side panels being relatively wide so that the latter, in addition to forming the sides of the garment, also form portions of the front and back of the garment when the latter is secured in place about the wearer. The principal feature of the invention as embodied in this form of garment resides in the construction of the side panels which are made of woven material. These panels are woven so that each includes inner and outer lip or band forming sections woven integral with the upper portion of the main bod section of the panel, said lip or band sections being sewn together at their upper edges to form a narrow flat tube which is stiffened against curling or rolling by diamond-shaped stiffening members contained therein, said stiffening members being placed between and sewn to the lip or band forming sections before the latter are sewn together at their upper edges. The diamond-shaped stiffening members are made of cord stiffened fabric in which the stiffening cords are laid in parallel relation. These stiffening members are secured in place between the aforesaid lip or band sections so that the stiffening cords thereof extend in the vertical direction of the garment. Owing to the particular shape and positioning of the stiffening members and the parallel arrangement of the vertically extending stiffening cords, the number and stiffening effect of the cords is greatest at the horizontal centre line of each stiffening member and diminishes gradually toward the upper and lower painted extremities of said member. This, together with the fact that each stiffening member gradually diminishes in width from its transverse centre line to its upper and lower pointed extremities, ensures that the stiifening bands of the side panels will be adequately stiffened against curling or rolling without making the upper edges of said bands too rigid or board-like. In other words, the diamond-shaped stiifeners provide maximum stifiening effect along a line midway between the upper and lower edges of each stifiening band with gradually diminishing stiffening effect toward the top and bottom portions of the band. It is along this line, midway between the top and bottom portions, that the band tends to permanently crease during rolling or curling thereof.

Proceeding now to a more detailed description of the invention reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a front view of my improved garment.

Fig. 2 is a rear View of the garment appearing in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a View showing one of the diamondshaped stiffening members per se.

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating the manner in which the side panels of the garment shown in Fig. 1 are woven to provide lip or band-forming sections integral with the main section.

In these drawings I have shown a girdle comprising a front panel 5, a rear panel 6 and side panels 1 and B. These panels are made of woven fabric and are joined together along their vertical edges as indicated at 9. The panels 5 and 'o are preferably but not necessarily made of woven material which is substantially nonstretchable in both the vertical and circumferential direction of the garment. The panels I and 8 are preferably but not necessarily made of woven material which is capable of elastic stretch in the circumferential direction of the garment.

Each of the side panels I and 8 comprises a main body section I3 and a relatively narrow upper band portion Hi, the latter consisting of inner and outer lip or band forming sections l5 and It which are woven integral with the main section l3. The band sections it and it are sewn together along their upper edges to form the flat tubular band I l which encloses a plurality of diamond-shaped stiffening members It, The members 58 are placed between and stitched to the band or lip forming sections and it before the latter are sewn together along their upper edges. The members !3 are spaced apart a suitable distance circumferentially of the garment and are arranged in place so that each member presents a pointed upper end Ifia directed toward the upper edge of the band it and a lower pointed end I82) directed toward the lower edge of the band. The stiffening members I8 are made of cord stiffened fabric in which the stiffening cords [8c are laid in parallel relation. It is important that these stiffening elements I8 be secured in place so that the stiffening cords I80 thereof extend in the vertical direction of the garment, that is to say, across the width of the band portion l4 of the panels 1 and 3. With this arrangement it follows that the maximum stiffening effect imparted to each of the bands I4 by the stiffening elements IB will be along a circumferential line located substantially midway between the top and bottom portions of the band, said line coinciding with the central portions of the stiffening elements which are of maximum width. and contain the maximum number of stiffening cords. It will also be noted that, owing to their diamond shape, the stiffening elements 58 of each band gradually decrease in width and stiffening effect from their central toward their upper and lower end portions, the decreasing stiffening effect being due not only to the narrowing of said stiffening members toward the upper and lower ends thereof but also due to the fact that the number of stiffening cords located across the width of each stiffening member decreases toward said ends. 2, the stiffening elements it are stitched in place by stitches arranged in a diamond-shaped pattern following the diamond-shaped outline of the stiffening elements.

The manner in which the lip or band forming sections to and is are woven integral with the main section 53 of each of the panels I and 8 is clearly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5. As here shown the warp threads 2! of the main section and interwoven with the finer warp threads 22 of the lip or'band forming sections I and It. The filler threads 23 of the main section [3 are continued beyond the uppermost warp thread 2! and interwoven with the filter warp threads 22 of the lip or band forming section [5. The remaining filler threads 25 of the main section l3 are also continued beyond the uppermost warp thread 2! and are interwoven with the finer warp threads 22 of the lip or band forming section I5. lip or band forming sections it and H5, in addition to containing finer warp threads, also contain exactly half the number of weft threads contained in the main section [3. If the warp yarns used in the lip or band sections I5 and IG were as coarse as those in the main body section I3, the strength of the band portion formed by sewing together the portions [5 and It would be too great compared with the strength of the main section l3. This would increase the tightness of the garment at the waist-line; would impair its fitting qualities; and would cause discomfort to the wearer. The equal division of the weft threads of the main section l3 between the lip or band forming sections l5 and [6 also ensures a uniform distribution of the weft threads of the garment when the lip or band sections [5 and 15 are sewn together and to the interposed stiffening elements l8.

In some cases it may be desirable to provide a garment having a continuous stiffened band 14 at the upper edge thereof. This may be accomplished by making the front and rear panels 5 and 6 in the same manner as described in connection with the side panels 1 and 8. The same result may also be achieved by providing a garment which, instead of being made of separately formed panels, consists of a single member including a main body encircling section and an upper stiffening band which extends around the As clearly indicated at I?) in Figs. 1 and It will thus be seen that each of the entire circumference of the garment and is formed by lip or band. sections woven integral with the main section.

Having thus described what I now consider to be the preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A girdle provided With a fiat tubular stiffening band portion at the upper edge thereof and a plurality of diamond shaped stiffening elements contained within said band portion, each diamond shaped stiffening element comprising a piece of textile fabric presenting a pointed upper end adjacent the top of said band portion and a pointed lower end adjacent the bottom of said band portion, said piece of fabric being provided with a plurality of vertically extending stiffening cords, the number and stiffening effect of which is greatest across the intermediate or widest portion of the fabric.

2. A girdle provided at its upper edge with a flat tubular stiffening band portion which extends a substantial distance around the circumference of the garment and a plurality of diamond shaped fabric stiffening elements contained within said band and spaced apart longitudinally of the band, each of said stiffening elements being composed of a diamond shaped piece of fabric arranged vertically to present an upper pointed end directed toward and positioned close to the top of said band and a lower pointed end directed toward and positioned close to the bottom of said band, said piece of fabric gradually increasing in width from said ends to a maximum width along its horizontal centre line which coincides with the horizontal centre line of said band and a plurality of vertically extending stiffening cords of varying length embodied in each of said diamond shaped pieces of fabric so that the number and stiffening effect of said cords decreases toward the pointed ends of the stiffening element.

3. A girdle provided at its upper edge with a flat tubular stiffening band formed by inner and outer lip sections having their upper edges sewn together and their lower edges woven integral with an underlying body portion of the garment, and a plurality of diamond shaped fabric stiffening elements contained within said band and spaced apart longitudinally of the band, each of said stiffening elements being composed of a diamond shaped piece of fabric arranged vertically to present an upper pointed end directed toward and positioned close to the top of said band and a lower pointed end directed toward and positioned close to the bottom of said band, said piece of fabric gradually increasing in width from said ends to a maximum width along its horizontal centre line which coincides with the horizontal centre line of said band, and a plurality of vertically extending stiffening cords of varying length embodied in each of said diamond shaped pieces of fabric so that the number and stiffening eifect of said cords decreases toward the pointed ends of the stiffening elements.

4. A girdle comprising front, rear and side panels joined together along their vertical edges to provide a body encircling member, said side panels being made of textile material which is woven so that each of said panels includes inner and outer lip sections woven integral with the upper portion of the main body section of the panel, said lip sections being sewn together at their upper edges to form a relatively narrow flat tube, and a plurality of diamond shaped stiffening members contained with said tube and arranged in a row extending circumferentially of the garment, each of said diamond shaped stiffening members being made of cord stiffened fabric in which the stifiening cords are laid in parallel relation, said stiffening members pre- 10 senting pointed upper and lower ends which are respectively directed toward the top and bottom marginal portions of the band within which the stifiening members are enclosed, said stifiening members being arranged so that the stiffening members thereof extend in the vertical direction of the garment and diminish in number across the width of the stiffening members as they approach the pointed ends thereof.

LOUIS J. A. AMYOT. 

